EA Mobile Montreal Among Studios Hit by Company Cutbacks

Some unfortunate news for Canadian video game developers today. Mere days after being voted as the “Worst Company in America” by readers of The Consumerist for the second year in a row, it seems that Electronic Arts has decided to spread their reputation further north by closing their Montreal-based EA Mobile studio.

“EA is sharpening its focus to provide games for new platforms and mobile. In some cases, this involves reducing team sizes as we evolve into a more efficient organization,” the company told Joystiq (via The Consumerist). “These are difficult decisions to let go of good people who have made important contributions to EA, and whenever possible we retrain or relocate employees to new roles. Streamlining our operations will help ensure EA is bringing the best next-generation games to players around the world.”

Joystiq’s digging says that nearly 200 employees were let go as a result of this, with 60 to 70 of them being “permanent” employees, whereas over 100 others were under contract, most of these being quality assurance testers. “If you walk through the office all you see is a bunch of already cleared out desks, and people cleaning out their desks,” stated one of their sources.

Following the resignation of CEO John Riccitiello last month due to failing to hit financial goals (thanks to Medal of Honor underperforming), the move doesn’t come as a complete surprise. Similar cuts had already been made elsewhere around the world, though one would think that no longer paying a CEO’s salary might free up some funds to keep people around. That, or the $185 million the company reportedly earned on microtransactions alone.